Why no news in so long?

Various circumstances have forced us to put LeepVR on the backburner. We've had to focus on some other things for a little while. Thanks for your support.

Are you the same people who did the original LEEP displays for NASA in the 1980s and 1990s?

Eric Howlett was the man behind original LEEP design that was used in several NASA projects in the 1980s and 1990s. These projects initiated his shift in focus from stereo photography to Virtual Reality. In 1989, his company, Pop-Optix Labs, released the first commercially available head-mounted display, the Cyberface.

Are the two of you (Eric and Alex Howlett) working on this by yourselves?

Right now, the project is on hiatus. Eric and Alex were heading up the LeepVR project. We also had a network of contributors who believed in Videowrap and helped work to further it along. These contributors include parties with whom we had worked in the past.

What happened to LEEP Systems?

LEEP Systems was shut down in 1998. We decided that the market wasn't yet ready for a full-out VR push.

What went wrong with the original LEEP Optics? Why aren't they everywhere today?

While the stereoscopic LEEP cameras and viewers aren't household items as Eric Howlett had originally envisioned in 1980, the LEEP optics were by and large successful within VR circles. For years, LEEP was the de facto standard in VR head-mounted displays. The patent has since expired and lenses using the LEEP design are being manufactured to this day.

What is Videowrap and how does it work?

In late 1994, Eric Howlett invented a revolutionary new VR display method that provided the user an unbounded visual field. At that time, he and two others from LEEP Systems assembled a simple feasibility demonstrator that aptly displayed the power of the display method. In 1999, he named the technology "Videowrap." We can't tell you how it works and we have yet to show Videowrap publicly.

Where can I get technical information about Videowrap?

While we can’t discuss the technical details of the technology at this time, there are plenty of publicly-available technical specifications that HMD manufacturers should be using already, but aren't. These technologies include Orthospace and Radial (LEEP) projection of three-dimensional worlds. We aim to provide as much information as possible about these technologies, and if you have any questions, feel free to contact us.

We will also do our best to discuss the features and capabilities of Videowrap right here on this website without going into too much about how the technology works. Please read through our Videowrap pages and feel free to contact us if you’d like any more information. Once we have made our first public disclosure, all of the information about Videowrap will be available right here on LeepVR.com.

How can I help?

Right now, LeepVR is on hold. We haven't put any effort into getting money, but having some might allow us to resume work on this exciting project.